The present invention relates to an animal trap and especially to a rat trap which is activated by a rat stepping onto the floor of the trap.
In the past, there have been numerous animal trap designs. The most popular in recent times has been a spring wired bait trap which has bait attached to a trigger mechanism which activates a spring loaded wire trap arm to slam against the rat attempting to take the bait. This type of trap has inherent disadvantages and is unattractive and is limited in placement to out of the way areas not subject to accidental bumping, such as by children or pets. It also can be activated only by attracting the animal to the bait and the trap may be hazardous to an individual trying to set it by pulling the arm against the spring for latching the trap in a set position. In addition, the sensitivity of the trigger mechanism varies widely and is effected by wear.
The present invention provides for a vermin trap in which a spring-loaded jaw is impelled directly against a rat upon the rat attempting to pass across the floor so that the trap can be set in a place where rats tend to move along a wall or the like and can be activated without the use of bait.
Typical prior art animal traps of this type can be seen in the Tharp patent, No. 983,181, which has a pair of jaws, one of which is cocked by pulling it against a compression spring which is actuated by a trigger placed on the floor thereof. A second Tharp patent, No. 813,333, is for an animal trap which is similar to the first using a jaw set against a compression spring but is actuated by bait placed therein to attract the animal onto the floor of the trap. In an early rat trap by Cosolowsky, No. 109,112, the trap is actuated by a trigger pulling on a cord to release an overhead jaw. In a U.S. Pat. No. 85199 to Beach, a fish trap has a compression spring-loaded jaw extending over a bottom jaw for entrapping a fish therein. In the Franks animal trap, U.S. Pat. No. 928,649, an animal is impaled by a series of spikes on an upper jaw when the upper jaw is released by an animal attempting to take the bait placed in the trap. In the Nelson animal trap, U.S. Pat. No. 502,986, an overhead jaw type trap is released on an animal stepping on the floor which has a link running through the jaw to above the trap to release the upper jaw. In the LaPier patent, No. 4,685,245, a rodent trap has a raised jaw which is raised against a compression spring and is activated by a trigger mechanism to release the upper jaw to come down upon the rodent.
The present invention uses an upper jaw which is cocked against tension springs in a rat trap which will impel an upper jaw against the rat when released by stepping on the floor of the trap similar to some of the prior U.S. patents but has the improvement of an actuating mechanism which is reliable and which includes a safety locking mechanism to prevent accidental release of the entrapment jaws.